People throw away €1 out of every €5 spent on food

Launching the approved waste policy documents Environment Minister Leo Brincat today announced that reducing food waste is one of the government's priorities.

Citing statistics showing that people are wasting €1 out of every €5 they spend on food. This is because 21% of food bought ends up in bin, he said.

According to Brincat, "reducing this waste will reduce waste and leave more money in people's pockets." 

An educational campaign addressing different age groups is set to commence.

But the first hurdle to overcome is the limited €40,000 which have been allocated to educational campaigns. Brincat announced that efforts are being made to increase this budget.

Leo Brincat announced that while government's intention is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, the government would commence studies aimed at finding new sites for a new-engineered landfill.

A study is being made to explore the possibility of extending the lifespan of the existing Ghallis landfill thus avoiding the need for a new landfill.

The current landfill lifespan will expire in 5 years time.

"We have to plan ahead. It would be irresponsible not to do so," Brincat said.

He however excluded increasing the capacity of the Sant Antnin waste treatment plant, as the government will focus on improving the quality of waste going to landfill through greater separation at source.

A strategic impact assessment (SEA) was conducted on the original waste plan. The SEA recommended minimisation of construction waste. "We have to be innovative in reusing construction waste. We need to give incentives," Brincat said.

He also announced discussions on changes to the eco-contribution regime especially with regards to electronic waste, because Malta is not abiding to the targets established by the EU directive on electric waste.

The waste plan will be discussed in parliament unlike what happened under previous administrations when a debate was only held after the then Labour opposition made such a request. The plan was also approved after extensive consultation with stakeholders.

Brincat excluded tax on land filled waste and insisted that the exclusion of taxes on waste was not a populist policy but reflects studies showing that this could serve as an incentive for illegal dumping. Therefore government will focus on the educational aspect. "The carrot is more important than the stick," he said.

The government remains committed to decrease the collection of un separated household waste to just once a week while increasing that of organic waste to three times a week and that of dry recyclables to two times a week. Government also intends to introduce a night collection of waste in certain localities.

"But while we are working on a behavioural change, we will not be using the big bang approach through which radical changes are imposed from above," Brincat said.  Most of the changes will be introduced through pilot projects.